Fort Lee officials break ground for The Modern

Forty-five years of inactivity on a prime piece of land in the heart of Fort Lee came to an end Oct. 17 with the groundbreaking of The Modern, a $500 million redevelopment project defined by two "iconic" glass towers at its center.

A crowd of more than 100 local and county officials, architects, developers and financers gathered at the site of the future development to celebrate an occasion that, as many repeatedly pointed out, was a long time in the making.

"I feel like we just reached the summit of Mount Everest after a long, hard climb," said Allen Goldman, president of SJP Residential Properties, the real estate development firm in charge of the project.

"[Through it all], we always had a level of confidence that we would arrive at a day such as today," he said.

Three to four years from now, when The Modern is complete, Fort Lee will boast two 47-story residential high-rises, a 1.75-acre park, three-screen movie theater, museum, restaurant and snack kiosk.

The development is expected to create 800 jobs and become a major ratable for the borough. When combined with Hudson Lights, the retail half of a total $1 billion redevelopment effort on the 16-acre Redevelopment Area 5, it will yield annual tax revenues of more than $10 million.

Though opponents repeatedly criticized both for their potential to seriously aggravate existing traffic and school overcrowding problems, Sokolich said plans for Area 5 represent a marriage of community and developer interests.

"It was a very difficult challenge to meet but I think we achieved it here," he said.

The Modern, he said, will be a destination for the entire borough.

Others called it a catalyst for similarly transformative projects in the area.